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Batman
}} Batman is a dark and grim hero with a personal vendetta against criminals. Traumatized by the death of his parents, Batman has sworn to rid Gotham from the criminal elements that took his parents from him. He is very paranoid and obsessive, which often makes it difficult for him to trust other people that aren't Alfred, or members of the Outsiders. Despite this, Batman has proved to have a great love for humanity, which was instilled by his parents. His father was a doctor, while his mother was a crusader against child abuse. Indeed, Batman's oath of vengeance is tempered with the greater ideal of justice. He refrains from killing, as he feels this would not make him any better than the criminals he fights. He is also a very prominent member of the Justice League Avengers and the founder of the Outsiders. To protect his secret identity, Batman has constructed a fake persona he can use in his civilian identity. To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is a self-absorbed, superficial, irresponsible playboy and philanthropist. Only his closest allies know that this attitude is just an act. The Bruce Wayne/playboy aspect of his character is a facade, while the masked and particularly dark, grim vigilante is marked as the "true" man. Usually, Batman is further separated from Bruce Wayne by the raspy and stony bass voice he usually assumes while costumed. Another identity used by Batman is that of gangster "Matches Malone." Matches was a small-time arsonist who killed his brother and then committed suicide by burning himself to death. Becoming Matches allows Batman to operate within the criminal community as a respected member with pre-established credibility. Matches is often under suspicion of being a snitch to Batman however, and great lengths often have to be gone to maintain his "rep." Matches would later return to Gotham City, and reveal to Batman he had been innocent, and had faked his death. The real Matches was murdered by the Ventriloquist, for Batman's actions in his name, but Batman was able to preserve the identity and even avenge his death. He has since, when in the Malone persona, pursued it to the point of even being incarcerated as him in Blackgate Penitentiary. Several villains have discovered his true identity over the years, most notably eco-terrorist Ra's al Ghul, Hugo Strange, the Riddler, the Scarecrow, and Bane. The villain Hush has attempted to take revenge on both sides of the Batman/Bruce Wayne persona, and he is noted throughout his run as a villain who has personal ties to Bruce Wayne and/or Batman; Hush is later revealed to be Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. Fortunately, most of Batman's enemies have dismissed the notion of Bruce Wayne as Batman because of Wayne's apparent dim-wittedness and self-absorption while the ones who do know prefer to keep the information to themselves for their own reasons. The Joker has had opportunities to learn himself, but he has always refused them, since it would personally rob the mystique of his enemy. Batman is a normal human being who does not possess any superhuman abilities, but has character flaws that can be exploited by enemies. As a young child, Bruce tended to be solitary and withdrawn, a condition only exacerbated by the murder of his parents. This lead to his current state as a loner who would prefer to be on his own rather than rely on others. His difficulty in trusting others is a constant issue for him to overcome, and perhaps his only weakness. His longest and closest relationship is with Alfred, who represents a father figure, confessor, and advisor. Alfred and he have clashed in the past, but share a deep and unbreakable bond. To the world at large, Bruce Wayne looks like a rich, good looking, dim-witted playboy. But there are times when Bruce has found love - the beautiful Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Talia al Ghul, Vicki Vale, Sasha Bordeaux, Zatanna and some others. They have all fallen in love with him. Bruce can love, it's just more difficult for him to after his parents deaths. Next to Alfred, his closest relationships are with his partners and students, the Robins and the Batgirls. Although they have not always been harmonious, due to his nature as an often harsh, strict and emotionally withdrawn mentor, it is clear that he views the Robins as his sons, although he views Jason Todd as the son he failed. James Gordon remains a close friend and staunch ally, although their relationship has also been challenged by Batman's secretive nature. Still, Gordon remains arguably Batman's best friend. His relationship with other superheroes and metahumans has been complex. Though a long time member of both the Justice League and the Outsiders, and a close associate of the Justice Society and the Teen Titans, he also does not fully trust them. This (warranted or not) has led to his keeping files on how to defeat allies and friends in case they ever cross the line. This stems from events revealed in the Identity Crisis incident where his memory was erased by other members of the Justice League Avengers to cover up their roles in the punishment of Doctor Light (Arthur Light), who had raped Ralph Dibny's (Elongated Man's) wife. In the past, this information has been used against him and his allies, first by Ra's Al Ghul, and then later by the OMAC Project. Among the superhero community outside the Robins and Batgirls, he is closest to Superman and Wonder Woman, having a long established partnership with Superman and a romantic relationship with Wonder Woman. These relationships have never been smooth. Superman and Batman have often disagreed with each other over methods and trust. A particularly sour point was the arrival of Kara Zor-El; Superman believed Batman was being unnecessarily cautious about a potentially dangerous Kara, and Batman was shocked at Superman's willingness to reveal his secret identity to a girl with little actual memory of Krypton. Despite their disagreements, the two hold a deep respect for each other. Batman has occasionally been arrogant, treating many of his allies with various degrees of disrespect. He often imposes his exacting standards on others as he does himself. He also sometimes overestimates his own abilities, allowing foes to take advantage of that. Suit Batman has a number of suits but his most powerful is his Hellbat armor, wherein he was able to defeat Darkseid while the rest of the Justice League Avengers were incapacitated at his hands. The armor itself is composed of a shifting nano-kinetic vibranium composition which can be shed and re-adorned to his person on command via voice activated computer A.I, with a built-in cloaking feature giving him total invisibility. The armor's cape transforms into a pair of wings for flight which are composed of the same nano-vibranium particle mesh. Enabling them to change shape and semblance diving into living bodies and putting off the inner ear, liquefy and reform around enemies to flail/bash them around, use them as shields for defense or stone cutting armaments for offence. As well as the ability to transfer all power to the chest insignia port, the latter of which can be used to send out a powerful blast of energy. The wings were torn off by Darkseid during Batman's battle with him over his son's corpse, but were quickly dispersed into a swarm of bats, then quickly reintegrated into the suit. He can eject select elements of the armor in order to prolong his life within it with voice commands, such as the helmet and the gloves, should necessity call for such measures. Trivia Wayne guards his secret identity well, but several individuals know of his superhero alter-ego, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Lois Lane, The Flash (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen & Wally West), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner & Alan Scott), Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brien), Arsenal (Roy Harper), Starman (Thom Kallor), Vixen (Mari McCabe), Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce), Aquaman (Arthur Curry), Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance), Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Catwoman (Selina Kyle), Red Hood (Jason Todd), Red Robin (Tim Drake), Oracle (Barbara Gordon), Robin IV (Damian Wayne), The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz), and his butler Alfred Pennyworth. The kindly Doctor Leslie Thompkins also is aware of Bruce's secret identity. Stats (Suit) Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Justice League Avengers